Monthly Archives: January 2010

I have been working through some ideas of how to portray hell in my novel Hell has its Demons. If you read the synopsis of the story you’ll have noticed that it ends with a journey by some of the main characters into hell itself. As the story is set in the middle ages there is some quite rich imaginative material for how hell was seen. The most obvious example being Dante’s Inferno, which is a complex and masterfully imagined place. Other medieval portrayals often depict it as a pit of fire where sinners are eaten or tortured by demons, including Satan himself. Dante’s portrayal is more subtle – with complex punishments depending on the exact nature of the sin. Also he put Satan frozen in ice, doomed to remain there as he breathes out frozen air himself so ensuring he will never be able to break free. Peter Lombard, writing before Dante, said there were two opinions of Satan’s freedom. Either he was able to roam and tempt man on earth, or some others believed that he was bound in prison in hell until Antichrist should come, then he would be loosed to seduce men in the final days of apocalypse.

I have thought about approaching the portrayal from a different point of view. As I see it Satan is really doing a job for God – after all God wants sinners to be punished doesn’t he, and Satan sort of makes sure this process gets done. So in my version I think Satan will probably have his freedom, but set under strict limits by God. For instance he can’t go into the world and seduce people unless God wills it – for instance to test a candidate for sainthood maybe.

Punishing sinners is a fairly tedious and onerous job for most demons as well. They can’t appear in their own form, but rather as shadowy air – according to Peter Lombard – and there must have been a lot more work for them as the number of sinners constantly increases. I am thinking that there would need to be a strict shift pattern for demons and a hierarchy of supervisors to make sure things got done. I wondered what hell would be like if a modern dictator got his hands on it – well probably quite bureaucratic and efficient and that I think will influence my portrayal of hell in this story.

There will be traditional elements – demons will appear monstrous, but I wanted to add more complexity. Some of the demons will have been recruited from amongst men – just as angels could be created from saints – and perhaps some of these men might be a little less willing to do their hellish duty than others?

Great post this from Charles Stross that sums up a lot of my own badly expressed thoughts about the perils of free/open access content.

At the end of the day if no-one pays for content, then why is it going to be produced. Also similar theme alluded to in Peter F. Hamilton‘s Misspent Youth where any decent original content becomes obsolete, because there’s no motivation to create it any more.

I really wish the free information enthusiasts would realise this – they’re potentially condemning mankind to a future of cultural drivel through their juvenile attempts to get something for free. I really wish they would spend their time on some decent ’cause’ such as the real information censorship that is happening in countries like China.

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Here’s a bit more information about Season of the Witch, although there’s not much available apart from the synopsis and cast list at the moment. Apparently some screenings happened in December 2009, but no reviews yet. The film is due out in March 2010.

Synopsis:

Nicolas Cage stars as a 14th century Crusader who returns with his comrade (Ron Perlman) to a homeland devastated by the Black Plague. A beleaguered church, deeming sorcery the culprit of the plague, commands the two knights to transport an accused witch (Claire Foy) to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence.

A priest (Stephen Campbell Moore), a grieving knight (Ulrich Thomsen), an itinerant swindler (Stephen Graham) and a headstrong youth who can only dream of becoming a knight (Robert Sheehan) join a mission troubled by mythically hostile wilderness and fierce contention over the fate of the girl.

With reference to my last post about Devices and Desires, the characters have become a lot clearer and different for me now – the realisation for me happened after about 300 pages. I won’t say how exactly but the main characters slowly seem to accrue more differentiation in their manner, style and motivation.

Perhaps the difference should have been more noticeable earlier though? Otherwise I am really enjoying this book. It is fantasy in that it is a non-historical world, but there are no magical elements. The use of the engineering theme makes the narrative and style quite unique, but still accessible – you just go with the stuff you don’t understand. Also I don’t think the ending will be obvious – I can’t really think what will happen at the moment, and I have about 100 pages to go.